Nintendo, the runaway leader in the video game business, is priming the market for its new Internet-connected handheld gaming system and adding storage capabilities to the best-selling Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said during the Game Developers Conference today in San Francisco that the Wii has now sold more than 50 million units since launching in 2006.

The console can now accommodate more downloadable content -- which was an early weakness -- through High Capacity SD cards. Here's how it will work, from a Nintendo press release: "When launching games or channels from an SD card, an equivalent amount of internal Wii memory is required. To clear space from the internal memory, users can transfer games or channels from the Wii Menu to the SD card."

Iwata also rolled out a new installment in Nintendo's uber-franchise, The Legend of Zelda, for the handheld Nintendo DS and its forthcoming successor, the DSi. He previewed other downloadable software for The DSi, set to launch April 5, including a title to make digital flip books and another game using pictures taken with the portable device's built-in camera.